


The Last of Us

by Shi_Toyu



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Character Study, Dubious Morality, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Gift Fic, I Don't Even Know, Just Kind of Exploring the Concept, Kinda, M/M, Mentions of genocide, Relationship Study, Riddick Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 20:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18059495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: Tony knew what it was like, not to have anyone else left, to be the sole survivor of a once-great race. It happened more often than one might think. There came a point where a race’s power and prestige made them a threat and, in turn, a target. It was the nature of things, of humanity. There were many who had been wiped out completely, but there were some who could still boast survivors.The Gigalites.The Elementals.The Furians.





	The Last of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [araydre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/araydre/gifts).



> For the incredible araydre! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Tony knew what it was like, not to have anyone else left, to be the sole survivor of a once-great race. It happened more often than one might think. There came a point where a race’s power and prestige made them a threat and, in turn, a target. It was the nature of things, of humanity. There were many who had been wiped out completely, but there were some who could still boast survivors.

The Gigalites.

The Elementals.

The Furians.

They were, after all, races who survived. It was in their blood, their spirit, to continue on, to find a way.

Tony had met an Elemental once, a woman who moved like the wind itself and spoke at length of the balance of the universe. In her eyes, all things served a greater purpose, even the destruction of her people. There had been an ethereal peace about her as she talked, a calm surety that Tony had rarely witnessed before. _She_ was at peace.

Tony was at war.

He had been since the attack on his people. Maybe he had been even before then, but that was when it’d focused and sharpened. That was when it truly took form. That was when the Merchant of Death was born. The Necromongers might view death as a religion, but the Merchant of Death was her confidant, her companion. Some thought he was a god himself.

To Tony, the Merchant of Death was just a tool, an armor to keep himself safe and to get revenge on the ones who had slaughtered his people because they feared what he and his race could do, what they could create. Maybe they were right to. The Merchant of Death was definitely something to be feared. He was ruthless, cold, and capable of more than any mere nightmare. Those who had crossed him should most certainly be afraid. He made sure of it.

The Merchant of Death chased.

Riddick ran.

Riddick didn’t run from _him_ , but that was probably the only reason their paths crossed at all. If Riddick wanted to avoid someone, they didn’t find him. Tony wasn’t sure even he could change that. Instead, they met by happenstance, thrown together by fate. Turned out, that was apparently how Riddick met most of the people in his life.

Riddick was very different from Tony. He was ruthless and cunning and deadly beyond measure, yes, but he had a calmness and stillness to him that Tony had never quite managed to achieve. Riddick was quiet and struck from the shadows. Tony was bright and blinded his adversaries to their approaching doom. Riddick just wanted things to be over. Tony wanted to finish them.

It was the differences between them that fascinated Tony. There was something about Riddick that drew him in like a moth to the flame. Riddick was animalistic, savage, and it excited Tony. He wanted to taste it, to savor it. Riddick indulged him.

It wasn’t meant to last, between them. Neither of them intended it to. They were solitary creatures, not meant for comfort and companionship. The people around them tended to die far too quickly for that to be the case. They weren’t _survivable_. Attachments only led to pain, and they had both experienced far too much pain in their lifetimes.

But, Tony knew where the ruins of Furia were, the remnants of the fallen planet that had once boasted the greatest warrior race to have ever lived, and Riddick wished to go there. Then, with everything they uncovered, Tony couldn’t just leave him. War, after all, was his specialty. So, they stayed together and didn’t speak of the eventualities. There were many things they didn’t speak of. It was better that way.

When Mercs came for Riddick, the Merchant of Death burned them to the ground.

When Tony locked his focus upon a goal, Riddick watched his back to ensure no one put a knife in it.

It worked.

Perhaps not by the standards of most, but for them. They didn’t usually bother with the concerns of ‘most’ anyway. They much preferred each other.


End file.
